This letter was written by Peter Regnier to Seth Lewis, judge of the Parish of Attakapas, after the slave revolt in Saint John the Baptist and Saint Charles parishes, La., in January 1811. In the January 19 letter, he states that he has relayed the contents of Lewis's letter of January 14 and 16 to the heads of patrol. He went to the lower end of the bayou [Bayou Teche] to establish two other patrols, commanded by Biggs and Merryman. He advised two ferrymen--Joe Berwick and Merryman--to watch for strangers arriving from the Mississippi, particularly people of color, being of the opinion that the massacre in St. John Parish would not have occurred if slaves and free people of color emigrating from Santiago [Cuba] had not been admitted into Louisiana. The patrols of the lower district begin at Nicolas Prévost's place, and there are seven, giving a total of 175 men. The heads of the patrols are: Patrol #1 Pierre Etier, #2 Nathan Kemper, #3 Jesse Lacy, #4 Martin [Demaret? Demaset?], #5 Josuah [sic.] Garrot--Bayou Salé, #6 William Biggs, #7 John Merryman. The heads will meet with Regnier today to go over matters. They are capable of responding to needs farther north, but people need to remember the recent revolution in St. Domingue and be vigilant. In the January 20 note, Regnier reports that on January 18, he married Thomas Insall and Mary Holdship.
